Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Do you ever get bored on a cruise?

46 replies

daisy817 · 12/06/2023 20:27

I've never been on a cruise before and have one booked for two weeks in August. Initially I was excited, but now I'm not sure. Looking at the itinerary, we have quite a lot of sea days and I'm wondering if I'll get bored stuck on the ship for this many days. I'm used to going on holidays where I'm out and about everyday.

Would be grateful if anyone can share their experiences of cruises (I'm going on a P&O cruise on the Arvia ship if anyone has direct experience on this cruise).

OP posts:
Bluevelvetsofa · 12/06/2023 22:46

It depends whether the onboard activities interest you or not. DH can happily sit on a balcony and watch the sea. I did get bored on sea days and often took myself off to find something to do.

CherryYree · 12/06/2023 22:48

You won't be bored! The port days were fabulous, but pretty tiring, so we were happy to have the sea days to lie in and relax a bit!

PrincessPalatine · 12/06/2023 23:02

Being cooped up with a load of awful people would do my head in.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

EnthENd · 12/06/2023 23:14

I'm not a cruise person, but cruise ships are basically floating all-inclusive resorts nowadays aren't they? The bigger ones especially.

fridaynight1 · 12/06/2023 23:23

All the cruises I've been on have been exhausting and relaxing in equal measure. Shore days are full on and if you do excursions you will be desperate for a day of doing nothing. Sea days are the days in between and a chance to do nothing, relax, sunbathe, read a book, go to the spa or whatever. Of course if you want to keep busy there's plenty of activities. The bigger the ship the more things there are to do. And don't forget the food 😁

PrincessPalatine · 13/06/2023 15:15

EnthENd · 12/06/2023 23:14

I'm not a cruise person, but cruise ships are basically floating all-inclusive resorts nowadays aren't they? The bigger ones especially.

This is exactly why I don't go on cruises.

WonderDays · 13/06/2023 15:21

I'm not a cruise person, but cruise ships are basically floating all-inclusive resorts nowadays aren't they? The bigger ones especially
This is exactly why I don't go on cruises

Check out Scenic.

gogohmm · 13/06/2023 15:38

I did the qm2 to New York which is 6 full days at sea and I was so busy I didn't get a chance to read my book!

Never been on that ship but on sea days they will be laying on a variety of entertainment eg talks (fun and serious), workshops, quizzes, live music, demonstrations, classes, competitions etc plus the general facilities, unlimited food etc. Each evening you get a leaflet under your cabin door with what's on the following day - some people bring a highlighter especially!

We found that (having gone to bed very late from dancing in the nightclub) we would made it to the buffet before breakfast finished, then take a walk around the promenade deck (running gear was brought and never came out of my case) then a quiz or a talk, dance class, late lunch or afternoon tea, swim, talks, band in the pub, change for dinner, cocktail or g&t, dinner at 8 then off to the nightclub for the band/dj

happyharpy78 · 13/06/2023 15:40

We went on the Arvia earlier this year (Caribbean so maybe slightly different). There's plenty to do on board but if you want to sunbathe prepare to get up early for a sunlounger!

Colinorpercy · 13/06/2023 15:45

I’ve never been bored on a cruise. In fact, I look forward to the sea days to relax as the ports you are usually up early to go exploring so a sea day is a welcome change. Love sitting at the back watching the wake, relaxing by pool, there’s usually a band/singer on throughout the day and there will be quizzes/dance classes etc too if that takes your fancy.

amicissimma · 13/06/2023 15:52

You will find that people who've never been on a cruise know that they are horrible, boring and disease-ridden. Full of people they won't like that they can't get away from.

OTOH, it's rare for people to go on only one cruise - they tend to like cruising so much that they keep booking.

It's hard to describe sea days because they are what you make of them. You can get up late, wander into breakfast, then to coffee, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and pre-bed snacks. You can spend hours in an air-conditioned bar listening to your preferred type of music. You can soak up the sun on deck, with drinks being brought to you - I've never not managed to find a sunbed, either in the midst of things or in a quiet corner, according to how I feel, or you can sit at a table. You can swim, soak in a jacuzzi, join in activities: sports, choirs, quizzes, creative, etc. You can listen to talks - various subjects, some more interesting than others. You can go to the cinema, or watch a choice of films on the TV in your room. You can sit on deck or your balcony and watch the sea go by, or sit in a communal area and make it obvious whether you'd like to chat or be left alone - people generally seem to read others' attitudes well. In the evening there's the main show, which varies from day to day, or dancing, disco, karaoke or various types of music in the bars.

I guess if you tend to be bored generally you could be bored on a cruise ship. But doing any activity requires minimal effort - you don't have to drive or catch a bus to a venue.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 13/06/2023 15:54

How are they for teens?

6strings1song · 13/06/2023 16:06

We recently went on a cruise which had an unexpected day at sea (3 days out of 7 and 2 of the days were back to back). We found we spent a lot of time in the cabin reading tbh. The cruise was to norway, so not really the weather to be out on deck sunbathing by the pool.

A typical sea day for us looked like:

-Breakfast around 9:30
-Walk round ship deck/coffee 11am
-Maybe a quiz 12pm
-Lunch 1pm
-Walk round ship/in cabin reading until 5pm
-Get ready for dinner and go for drinks 6pm
-Dinner 8pm
-Drinks 9pm
-Back to cabin 10:30pm

We did get a bit bored tbh. The activities each day seemed to be a lot of sales pitches for various things you could buy in the shops...whiskey, jewellery etc. Exercise classes such as fit steps and stretching classes. There was one craft class per sea day, if that's your thing. The talk we had on the ship was the same guy each day, but not a topic that interested us too much (cartoon animator). The quizes were at odd times and were repetitive e.g. music quiz everyday and an individual quiz. There was also bingo, but it was very expensive.

I know I sound like a right moaner, but we felt there was a lot of very similar activities each day.

grass321 · 13/06/2023 16:10

mondaytosunday · 12/06/2023 20:48

Yes more than a couple days at sea I wouldn't be bored, but my kids would be.

My teenagers were the opposite, both found their own group of friends on board and had to be dragged out on our excursions after sampling too much of the nightlife.

You definitely get 'tripped' out. We organised our own excursions with independent operators but you start to get into overload and long for a couple of days relaxing on the boat.

We've been on cruises, both times wondered why we'd booked them afterwards, but they were great. Particularly Celebrity which had very good food and drink.

ThreeRingCircus · 13/06/2023 16:23

It totally depends on what you're into. Days in port can be very full on with excursions so it's nice to have some sea days too to just chill. Personally I love leisurely meals, sitting with a coffee watching the waves, reading my book, walking round the decks, gym, quizzes, talks, cinema and theatre shows so I would almost never get bored.

I wouldn't want more sea days than days in port, but do like a good mix.

purpleboy · 13/06/2023 16:29

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 13/06/2023 15:54

How are they for teens?

Depends on your teens.
They have teen only spaces where they can hang out, in my experience with DD usually by day 2 she has a huge cohort of pals that she met in the teen area and they all just generally hang out together. Often they would do the quizzes or game shows or go to the shows, watch the bands, play pool, swim/jacuzzi.
She has always loved cruising, but is confident to go and make friends.

WonderDays · 13/06/2023 16:43

Cruises are really good for teens, mine used to love walking around and getting a frappe or mocktail , going to shows, joining in quizzes, my arty DS did watercolour classes and other crafty classes with me. My sporty DS like to join in sports tournaments and they both loved reading on the balcony. The arty DS also really enjoyed all the jacuzzis.

inloveandmarried · 13/06/2023 16:58

Never bored. But I've only cruised the Mediterranean so usually only single days at sea then stop offs and sight seeing.

Not sure if I was crossing the Atlantic to USA if I'd feel the same after a few weeks!

Zipps · 13/06/2023 17:02

My teens loved cruises and always made friends.
They particularly loved the chocolate fountains, afternoon tea, lolling in the jacuzzis with all the other teens, watching stuff like the ice sculpture demos, the quizzes, gym, make up demos and the spa, cinema, mini golf etc.

Sail0r · 13/06/2023 17:50

Love sea days, for me they are the best bit! It’s virtually impossible to be bored on a cruise, there is SO much to do. You can be entertained from early morning until mid night. You can also eat and drink that whole time too 😁

My kids are only 7&9 and they didn’t complain of being bored once. We love cruising, booked to do p&o Iona in 3 weeks time and can’t wait. Join the Facebook groups, great for advice and to get a feel for the ship.

ASGIRC · 13/06/2023 18:00

SliceOfCakeCupOfTea · 12/06/2023 21:06

Very bored but I was on for 8 months at a time

And I imagine you werent just enjoying the facilities! I found after 3 months it got REALLY old! LOL

New posts on this thread. Refresh page